STANDING proudly beside her man, wearing a huge smile, Ellie Watkins looked every inch the doting and loyal WAG as her England striker husband Ollie was officially unveiled as a new player for Saudi Arabian football team Al-Hilal.
Clutching hold of their daughter Amara, four, while Ollie held onto three-year-old son Marley, the Watkins family showed off former Aston Villa star Ollie’s new shirt with pride. But away from the apparent glitz and glamour of the blockbuster £51 million transfer, Ellie’s friends are concerned about her move to the Middle East and the secret heartache she is harbouring.
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A source told us: “Ollie’s transfer to the Middle East came as a huge shock to Ellie. There wasn’t much speculation about the move and the deal massively escalated over a couple of days.
“Ellie had an incredible friendship group in Birmingham and settled really quickly after Ollie moved to Villa from Brentford six years ago.
“She is hoping to do the same in Riyadh, but her close pals are worried, especially after everything happened so quickly.
“Ellie is trying to put a brave face on things for now, because she desperately wants to create a solid home life for Amara and Marley.”
The 30-year-old had only a few days between the transfer deal officially accelerating and the family physically relocating to Saudi Arabia in late August.
She made no secret of her own concerns about Ollie’s move in an emotional TikTok video shared just hours after her husband was unveiled as a Saudi Pro League player.
The influencer admitted a move to Riyadh was “not on her bingo card for 2026”.
While on the verge of tears, she spoke of being “in shock” about the transfer and admitted she was nervous about relocating to the Middle East, but Ellie bravely insisted it will be “amazing for the kids” and their new life will “all be good”.
Ellie has also been inundated with support from several other WAGs.
Over the summer, she grew closer to England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford‘s wife Megan Pickford, as the pair followed their Three Lions star husbands across North America during the 2026 World Cup.
Commenting on Ellie’s TikTok post from Riyadh, Megan wrote: “Oh my darling this made me choke. I’m sure you will settle into your new chapter just fine.”
Ollie’s England teammate John Stones‘ wife Olivia Stones has made a similar move this summer.
After 10 years at Manchester City, the Three Lions defender has signed for Italy’s Inter Milan, meaning she has relocated to Italy with her husband.
Olivia commented on Ellie’s Instagram post: “Oh darling what an exciting new chapter for you all, so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to, wishing you all the happiness xxx.”
Upon seeing Ellie’s emotional Instagram video, former Aston Villa player Anwar El Ghazi‘s wife Melanie Gallardo Robles reached out to her.
She wrote: “I know exactly how you feel, the love and the memories will stay forever! Welcome to the Middle East. Hope to see you soon again.”
Ellie replied: “I’m a flight over to you asap!! Started at Villa together and now we are here.”
El Ghazi plays for Qatar Stars League club Al-Sailiya, who are based in Doha, meaning Ellie has a familiar face just a 90-minute flight away.
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While Ellie and Ollie had life sorted in Birmingham, his time at Villa ended on a sour note.
After six years at the club, Watkins had established himself as a firm fans’ favourite, scoring 91 goals in 221 appearances, and he helped the club to its first major trophy in 30 years when they clinched the Europa League last season.
However, Watkins went from hero to villain last month when he made himself unavailable for selection for Villa’s first Premier League game of the season.
It meant Villa went into the match without a fit striker, and they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion.
After the loss, Villa manager Unai Emery went viral when he was asked about Ollie’s absence, telling reporters they would have to “call him or his agent” to find out why he did not play.
Emery later confirmed Watkins had apologised to him and the Villa players, and the manager admitted he was in tears saying goodbye to his star striker.
Unai explained: “He told us after the Brighton match he was sorry and that he had made a mistake. He was wrong, but we accepted it. The players as well.
“His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic. He’s a fantastic guy – a fantastic guy even more than a player. I told him ‘bye’ with a huge hug and with small tears.”
While Ollie came under fire from Villa’s supporters over the way he dealt with his exit, it also affected Ellie, too.
The source added: “Ellie has made no secret of the fact she is an incredibly emotional person, so it was always going to be painful the day Ollie left Villa.
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“But the way his departure played out hit her hard.
“Seeing him disliked by fans who had adored him just days earlier was really tough to take, but she is fiercely loyal to her man.
“Ellie has stuck by Ollie when the goals have dried up in the past, and she would follow him anywhere.
“She is hugely proud of Ollie and what he has achieved at Villa, where they have made friends for life.
“But it makes closing that chapter even harder.”
While Ellie is leaving behind some firm friendships, she has the opportunity to gain some new WAG pals at Al-Hilal.
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And she is off to a strong start after growing closer to Ollie’s new teammate Ruben Neves’ wife Débora Lourenço Neves.
A source added: “Ruben and Ollie used to be huge rivals on the pitch when he played for Wolves and Ollie was at Villa, but they are now teammates and their wives are growing closer, too.
“They have plenty in common and Ellie has someone she can chat to about their time in the Midlands if she ever gets homesick about England.”
Ellie and Débora used to live just 36 miles away from one another in the Midlands, but they are now both residing in the bright lights of Riyadh.
The pair follow each other on Instagram but if Ellie wants to increase her social presence even more she could look to a fellow Al-Hilal WAG, Zoe Cristofoli, who is the partner of defender Theo Hernandez.
Theo and Ollie will be hooking up on the pitch, and model and influencer Zoe could be someone to help Ellie improve her own influencer game off the pitch.
Zoe boasts a whopping 1.1million followers on Instagram, and 214,000 on TikTok, dwarfing Ellie’s 171,000 combined across the two platforms.
Zoe is nicknamed the “Tigress of Verona” in the Italian press, partly due to her impressive array of tattoos, and she knows plenty about business after founding OZ Extrait, an Italian luxury niche fragrance and beauty brand, and co-founding Italy-based tattoo studio Ink Studio Lagrange.
Zoe isn’t currently living in Riyadh, but she plans to move back after recently admitting she misses life in the Kingdom.
It’s also handy to know a doctor, and Ellie will soon be rubbing shoulders with Ollie’s new teammate Sergej Milinković-Savić’s wife Natalija Ilić.
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Medic Natalija, who is good friends with Zoe, is already known to some Brits after she went viral during the 2022 World Cup when her bikini social media snaps attracted global attention.
A source added: “Several Al-Hilal WAGs have a big online presence, so Ellie will be in good company, and Zoe’s comments about Saudi Arabia will be music to her ears.
“Ellie had no trouble making friends when she first moved to Birmingham, but there is a worry it won’t be so easy in Riyadh. The city is seven times bigger than Brum, and some of the WAGs don’t live there permanently, like she is planning to do with Ollie when they get settled.”
Like many of the high-profile players and their WAGS who have moved to Saudi Arabia before, including Christiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez, the family are likely to be housed in a a luxury gated compound, where they can more easily continue Western lifestyles.
Riyadh also boasts 75 international schools, including many who offer British curriculum options.
“Ellie has wasted no time trying to create a solid home life in Saudi Arabia for her family,” our source adds.
“She has been rushing around trying out colour schemes and testing out various furniture combinations while Ollie has been with his new teammates.
“It’s been a hectic and chaotic time, and there have been ups and downs already.”
On Thursday, Ellie returned to England to tie up some loose ends after Ollie’s rushed transfer, but she couldn’t hide her sadness that her children are finding the move difficult.
She shared a picture of Ollie embracing Amara, and she wrote on her Instagram Stories: “Sad baby saying goodbye to daddy today. Feel so bad she doesn’t really understand what’s going on.
“Back to the UK to get everything sorted before we can move properly”
Ellie hasn’t been shy about voicing some of her frustrations about Saudi Arabia life during her short time in the Kingdom.
After travelling to the Kingdom Arena to watch Ollie pull on Al-Hilal’s famous blue strip for the first time, she wrote on TikTok: “Finally arrived after two hours in traffic [melting face emoji]”
A source said: “The traffic situation in Riyadh is a congestion crisis, but it is something Ellie will have to get used to.
“Hopefully the positives of the city and the football club will outweigh any negatives of their new life in the Middle East.
“The Al-Hilal faithful have already taken Ollie to their hearts, dubbing him ‘WatKing’.”
Al-Hilal’s new king received a royal seal of approval on his debut.
Ollie came off the bench on September 1st to score in his new team’s resounding 3-0 win over title rivals Al-Ahli, whose star striker is Watkins’ England teammate Ivan Toney.
The victory put Al-Hilal joint-top of the Saudi Pro League alongside Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Al-Nassr, who beat Al-Hilal to the championship by just two points last season.
Al-Hilal fans are already delighted with their new king, and Ellie’s close friends are hoping their queen will get off to an equally fantastic start to life in Saudi Arabia, too.